(NEXSTAR) – It was a war that changed a generation. The Vietnam War is a story of conflict, courage and controversy. In our series of specials and interviews marking the 50th Anniversary of the fall of Saigon, reporters from Nexstar – the parent company of this news station – are looking at the ripple effects of the war that are still being felt today.
The cornerstones of our coverage are a pair of hour-long broadcast specials looking back at the war. The first – Vietnam: A Lost Generation – is available online and is airing on Nexstar stations nationwide. A second special on Operation Babylift, will dive deep into the chaotic effort to evacuate Vietnamese orphans at the end of the conflict. That special will be released in early May.
To complement the coverage, in the video above, we take an in-depth journey through WPIX archival footage of the Vietnam War, guided by Boston College historian Seth Jacobs’ insights into the Cold War context that set the stage for protracted conflict and U.S. involvement.
In a second segment, CBS News Travel Editor Peter Greenberg recounts being a journalist on the ground covering the fighting in Vietnam, the protest movement on college campuses and the return of prisoners of war. Watch both interviews in the video player at the top of this page.